NBA Players of the Week: Kawhi Leonard of the Toronto Raptors and Donovan Mitchell of the Utah Jazz

Kyle Irving

NBA Players of the Week: Kawhi Leonard of the Toronto Raptors and Donovan Mitchell of the Utah Jazz image

Toronto Raptors' forward Kawhi Leonard and Utah Jazz's guard Donovan Mitchell have been named Eastern and Western Conference Players of the Week, the league announced Monday.

2018-19 Players of the Week
  Western Eastern
Week 1 Nikola Jokic Kemba Walker
Week 2 Stephen Curry Giannis Antetokounmpo
Week 3 Russell Westbrook Victor Oladipo
Week 4 CJ McCollum Pascal Siakam
Week 5 Anthony Davis Nikola Vucevic
Week 6 Tobias Harris Giannis Antetokounmpo
Week 7 Paul Millsap Kawhi Leonard
Week 8 Stephen Curry Bradley Beal
Week 9 James Harden Thaddeus Young
Week 10 Paul George Giannis Antetokounmpo
Week 11 James Harden Giannis Antetokounmpo
Week 12 Donovan Mitchell Kawhi Leonard

Kawhi Leonard

Leonard was honoured as the Eastern Conference Player of the Week for his role in the perfect 3-0 week for the Raptors.

Kawhi averaged 30.7 points and 8.7 rebounds while shooting 53.8 percent from the field, 47.1 percent from three and 82.4 percent from the free throw line. Leonard started the week with 31 points, six assists and a career-high six steals in a win over the Atlanta Hawks – his final steal of the game sealed the victory for his team.

He followed that performance with a 20 point, 11 rebound double-double in a win over the Brooklyn Nets and closed the week with a monster 41-point game in a double-overtime win over the Washington Wizards.

This was Leonard's sixth Player of the Week honour for his career and second this season. The Raptors are 33-12 sitting atop the Eastern Conference thanks to the play of their All-Star forward and have a huge matchup against the Boston Celtics on Wednesday.

Donovan Mitchell

Mitchell was honoured as the Western Conference Player of the Week in a 3-1 week for the Jazz.

This was a much needed stretch for last year's Rookie of the Year runner-up, averaging 31.5 points, 5.8 assists and 4.3 rebounds over the four games. Mitchell shot 48.4 percent from the field and 48.6 percent from beyond the arc – both percentages significantly higher than his average for the season.

The Jazz started the week with a tough road loss to the Bucks but thanks to Mitchell catching fire, they were able to rattle off three straight wins to end the week. The Louisville-product scored 33 points in back to back games defeating the Orlando Magic and Los Angeles Lakers, then followed that with a 34-point performance in a win over the Chicago Bulls.

Scoring 30 or more points in three consecutive games is the longest streak of his career.

This was Mitchell's first ever Player of the Week honour and the first Jazz player to earn the award since George Hill back in November 2016. Utah is now 23-21 tied with the Lakers for the final playoff spot in the West. 

Kyle Irving

Kyle Irving Photo

You read that wrong – not Kyrie Irving. From Boston, graduated from the University of New Hampshire. Sixth season as a content producer for NBA.com's Global editions. Covering the NBA Draft has become his annual "dream come true" moment on the job. Irving has a soft spot for pass-first point guards, with Rajon Rondo and Steve Nash being two of his favorite players of all time.